According to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Bashar al-Assad is not likely to be toppled; yet he has expressed hopes that Assad will not serve Tehran’s interests.
The wide-ranging interview with Time has shown that Riyadh’s views on Syria’s future might have changed.
“Bashar is staying. But I believe that Bashar’s interests are not to let the Iranians do whatever they want they want to do,” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the media outlet, Sputnik reports.
Having focused on Syria, bin Salman said that US military presence in the country was indispensable. “We believe American troops should stay for at least the mid-term, if not the long-term.”
The Saudi Crown Prince proceeded to warn of the possible dangers the decision to withdraw troops from eastern Syria might lead to. “If you take those troops out from eastern Syria, you will lose that checkpoint. And this corridor could create a lot of things in the region,” Time cited him as saying.
